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A 20-Minute Lesson
I have to do a 20 minute lesson with a group of 7th/8th graders, on grammar and vocabulary. Help!Intermediate

Can't See The Trees
US cities have lost more than 20 percent of their trees in the past 10 years. This is due mainly to urban sprawl and highway construction. (Importance of trees, loss of trees in cities, understanding the main idea, crossword, interpreting a flowchart and transferring information, reading in detail, present simple, present perfect and past simple tenses, brainstorming.)Pre-Intermediate

Something's Cooking for Career Changers
Lisa Poulos loved the frenetic pace of her job as assistant to a top executive at a Manhattan financial firm, but she quit her job and enrolled in Manhattan's French Culinary Institute where she could learn cooking and baking skills. (Cooking, career changes, comprehension, guessing meanings of words from context, summarizing, food and cooking vocabulary, bar and line graph work, matching words game, reading an interview.)Upper-Intermediate

A Suitable Husband
"Who wants to marry my daughter?" That is what is on a sign planted on Donna Wood's front lawn in Southbridge, Massachusetts. Wood is seeking a soul mate for her 22-year-old daughter Karah, whose romantic choices over the years have left much to be desired, the mother said. (Arranged marriages, finding suitable marriage partners, bizarre stories, mixed questions, true or false, ranking, writing an advertisement, dialogue, word game.)Intermediate

A phenomenon called "aspect"
Anna talks about "aspect"... How English concentrates on a) whether an action starts and finishes or b) whether an action continues over a period.Intermediate

Collocations
How would you teach collocations, particularly at a beginner's level?Intermediate

Paris Beach
Can you have a beach without the sea? Paris set out to prove you can, importing sand, palm trees and sunbeds for a repeat of 2002's "Paris-Plage" experiment that lured over two million sun-worshippers to the concrete-lined banks of the River Seine. (Leisure, Paris, beaches and summer vacations, survey, predicting, true, false or not given, comprehension, deducing meaning from context, could have + past participle, dialogue build.)Intermediate

Mystery Man
A man suffering from amnesia has caused problems for Norwegian police. They have asked the media to help identify the well-dressed, educated man after two months of unsuccessful investigations. (Missing persons, amnesia, categorizing words, listening for ideas, true or false, reading and thinking, class story, answering questions with short answers and positive and negative forms, Who is this person? game.)Pre-Intermediate

Count To 21
This is a great activity for all ages and a good way to get students more focused.Elementary

Animal Phones
The sweet song of a bird, the roar of a lion or the grunt of a hippo could soon replace the beeping of Britain's mobile phones. (New services for mobile phones, matching pictures and words, split reading, tell someone about an article, matching information, reading for detail, discussion, what am I? game, understanding and drawing a cartoon, the present continuous tense, crossword - animals.)Elementary

Mirrors Not Required
Wall-to-wall mirrors in gyms and dance studios might stop women getting the exercise they need because women who work out in front of a mirror get discouraged and feel tired, Canadian researchers said. (Exercise and body image, Find Someone Who game, categorizing words, writing questions, crossword, completing sentences, true, false or not given, role play, discussion, group design project, superlative adjectives.)Upper-Intermediate

Lights Out!
U.S. supermarkets and restaurants had to throw away mountains of spoiled vegetables, meats and dairy products, while others were counting on backup generators to minimize losses from the largest power outage in North America's history. (Power failure and the effects of a blackout on supermarkets and restaurants, predicting from the headline, sequencing, comprehension, true, false or not given, word forms, peer dictation.)Intermediate

Find Someone Who - Languages
This warmer gets students out of their seats and asking other students questions about languages and places.Pre-Intermediate

"to be" Used in the Wrong Way
I would like help to encourage my ESOL students NOT to use the verb 'to be' in front of the simple present or past. Are they getting it mixed up with the Passive?Intermediate

Everest Anniversary
As he marked the 50th anniversary of reaching the roof of the world, a now gray-haired and stooped Sir Edmund Hillary didn't care if he really was the first to the top of Mount Everest. (Everest, Mallory, Hillary and Norgay, mountain climbing, anniversary of historic climb, matching information, sequencing, scrambled questions, complete the sentences, comparing pictures, true, false or not given, crossword.)Intermediate

A Rude Passenger
A Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Brisbane, Australia made an unscheduled stop to eject a passenger who became unruly after a heated argument with his girlfriend. The man may have to pay the A$25,000 bill. (Airplane travel, passenger behavior, sequencing, summarizing, discussion, true or false, interview, word forms, pair crossword.)Pre-Intermediate

"Since"
"Anna, I need your help. I have to explain the proper use of the word "since". Could you help me on this?"Intermediate

New Age Cinema
Bawling babies have ruined films for countless moviegoers but now one New York cinema is filling an entire theater with them in an effort to win the business of stir-crazy parents who haven't gone out in years. (Cinemas, moviegoing habits, parenting and babies, what would you do, categorizing words, true or false, reading for details, meanings from context, conjunctions (and, but, so, because) find someone who..., describing a scene, present continuous tense, design project.)Pre-Intermediate

Group Sentences 2
This warmer is good for mingling, and getting students talking and moving.Intermediate

Plan To Fight Future SARS
Asia-Pacific health ministers have agreed to common health screening procedures for the deadly SARS virus and to share information to combat the disease as China promised openness to stop future outbreaks. (SARS, controlling infectious diseases, trade, brainstorming, predicting from the headline, making questions, completing and performing an interview.)Upper-Intermediate

Green Packaging
Wild Oats Markets Inc. became the first grocery store in the United States to roll out a new type of "green" packaging which looks like plastic but turns into compost after disposal. (Environmentally friendly packaging, comprehension, true or false, meanings from context, summarizing, information gap activity, language - making predictions.)Intermediate

Ducks and Locusts
China is using ducks to stop locusts from destroying valuable crops, but the ducks will probably then be eaten in restaurants. (Pests, locusts, prediction, reading for the main idea, sequencing, true or false, discussion, in and into, recipe.)Elementary

Never Ending Weekend
This is a good Monday morning warmer to knock everyone from the slumber of the weekend.Intermediate

"Each" and "Every"
Anna explains the difference between the words 'each' and 'every'.Intermediate

Group Sentences 1
This warmer is good for mingling, and getting students talking and moving.Intermediate

"Did you have" Vs "Had you"
I have a lovely student who just can't seem to grasp the idea that we say, "did you have . . ." she always wants to say "had you . . ." and although she knows that her form is wrong she needs a better explanation than I can give her! Can you help?Intermediate

Cleaning Up Their Acts
With its landfill sites almost full, Japan has launched a plan to halve the amount of trash it buries. Meanwhile, Ireland battles a price of economic success: a waste disposal crisis. From a third island nation, New Zealand, comes a possible waste management solution. (Waste management, environmentally friendly waste management systems, matching sentence beginnings and endings, listening for information, true or false, choose the best answer, using 'also', understanding a process diagram.)Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate

International Treaty Against Smoking
More than 190 countries approved the first international treaty against smoking, including an advertising ban, aimed at kicking a habit that kills nearly 5 million people a year. (Antismoking, WHO, complete the headline, scanning, reading carefully, summarizing, relative clauses, information exchange, debate, complete the drawing.)Upper-Intermediate

Atwood's 'Oryx and Crake'
Celebrated Canadian author Margaret Atwood has released a novel about a deadly virus that wipes out civilization. 'Oryx and Crake' is bound to touch a few nerves in her home country and around a world still plagued with the fear of SARS. (Science Fiction, the future, SARS, text organization, true, false or not given, choose the best answer, sequencing, discussion, words with similar spellings, acronyms, find someone who game - books and reading.) Warning: Adult themes.Advanced

Student Wins Geography Prize
A 14-year-old who is taught at home by his mother beat 54 other students to win the title of U.S. National Geographic Bee champion and a prize worth $25,000. (Geography, competitions, homeschooling, sequencing, thinking carefully, describing and comparing two pictures game, word find puzzle.)Pre-Intermediate

No-Frills Cinema
The world's first no-frills cinema is opening in Britain promising tickets from just 20 pence -- but with no popcorn or blockbuster movies on show. (Cinemas and movies, quick survey, gap fill, choosing a headline, scanning, true or false, have to..., brainstorming, movie crossword, peer dictation.)Intermediate

"There's many" Vs "There are many"
Some people tend to say "There's many different kinds..." should it not be "There are many different kinds..."? Well, yes and no!Intermediate

Contradictions
Use this Warmer to practice giving short contradictory replies to statements.Pre-Intermediate